Turbomachines such as compressors and turbines are used in a variety of applications to either (1) compress a fluid from an inlet pressure to a discharge pressure which is higher than inlet pressure or (2) expand a fluid from an inlet pressure to a discharge pressure that is lower than the respective inlet pressure while extracting work. Turbomachines typically comprise a rotatable element of a plurality of blades mounted to a rotor and a static element of a plurality of vanes mounted to a casing.
Applications of turbomachines include gas turbine engines, where a compressor supplies high pressure air to a combustor while a turbine expands the heated fluid to extract work. The rotor of the compressor/turbine may be coupled to at least a portion of the rotor of the turbine component in the gas turbine engine. In aviation applications such as a compressor used in an engine for an aircraft, missile, or other airborne element, the cost of the compressor can significantly affect its compatibility or applicability for certain markets.
The growth and capabilities of the expendable gas turbine market will depend on low cost alternatives to today's accepted manufacturing technology. The emerging markets for expendable gas turbine engines for the missile/drone market do not require long life. They do, however, favor low cost and this desire to reduce costs may offset any reduced aerodynamic efficiency encountered.
Typically, compressor or turbine stages are fabricated by machining disks (wheels) and blades that are assembled into a single unit. As designs evolved, compressor stage blisks (integral blades and disk) are being fabricated by machining a single block of material. These two methods generally provide a turbine stage having good aerodynamic characteristics over a long service life and with low risk associated with the configuration. However, these methods also carry a high economic price.
It is thus desired for an improvement in the art of fabricating turbomachinery components, and particularly compressors, to provide less expensive alternative to current fabrication of turbomachinery.